Elie Khouri

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Elie Khouri
Elie Khouri OMG MENA CEO.jpg
Elie Khouri at Omnicom Media Group MENA Headquarters, 2016
Born (1964-05-08) May 8, 1964 (age 57)
Beirut, Lebanon
NationalityLebanese-French[1]
EducationMBA
Alma materAmerican University of Beirut
OccupationChairman, Omnicom Media Group, Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Elie Khouri (born May 8, 1964) is a Lebanese-French marketing and communications executive in Dubai. He is the Chairman of Omnicom Media Group MENA, the media services division of the Omnicom Group.

He worked within the advertising industry at Omnicom Group's agency BBDO after he received his MBA in 1988. In 2002, he went from the creative to the media side of Omnicom Group to launch OMD, a media communications group. It develops marketing campaigns using digital, mobile, and television advertising and, more recently, employing performance marketing. Omnicom has been ranked one of the best places to work in the United Arab Emirates for several years.

Khouri sits on boards that support the organisation's corporate social responsibility program. He has received several awards and honors from Forbes Middle East and Arabian Business, and he is considered an influential marketing executive in the Arab world.[2][3]

Early life and education[]

Born on May 8, 1964, Khouri lived on the east side of Beirut, where his father worked as a chef.[4] The Lebanese Civil War broke out when he was 11-years-old,[2] but he stayed in Beirut because his family did not have the money to relocate.[5] From a young age, Khouri sold firecrackers, canned food, drinks, and clothing to make pocket money.[2][5] During the raids, there was a food shortage, so he started to sell tuna and beef in his neighborhood. With the proceeds, he bought clothes, which he later sold at a profit.[6]

He attended the American University of Beirut (AUB), where he received a BBA in 1986 and an MBA in business and finance in 1988.[2][7] On his way to classes at AUB, he was often in danger due to snipers in the area and he once escaped a kidnapping attempt.[2] While attending the university, Khouri worked at a financial trading company, which dealt with trading currencies, securities and bonds.[8]

Career[]

Early career[]

After graduation, Khouri went to Cyprus to work for Lance de Masi at BBDO, an advertising agency that is part of the Omnicom Group.[2] He pursued this job because he found it more interesting than finance,[5] and the move would take him away from the civil war. Also, the banking industry had become unstable due to the global financial crisis of the late 1980s.[8] He travelled frequently for TV commercial shoots to New York, Los Angeles and London[2] for clients like Yves Saint Laurent and Pepsi.[5]

In 1992, Khouri moved to Dubai, where he worked at Impact BBDO in a senior role. He returned to Beirut in 1996 and for the next four years served as the associate managing partner of Impact BBDO.[2]

Omnicom[]

Khouri returned to Dubai in 2001 and later established OMD (Optimum Media Direction),[2] by unbundling Omnicom's media departments within its full-service agencies.[5] The company develops advertising campaigns for its clients.[2] Arabian Business states that "Khouri ditched a glamorous job in the advertising industry to set up the media agency OMD."[5] This occurred when media was a minor consideration in communication planning. With the wider use of technology, media became an important element in planning advertising campaigns.[5]

Starcom was the leading media agency in the Middle East until 2005, when OMD took the lead. The global roll-out of Omnicom Media Group's other media brand, PHD, by early 2006, saw the addition of an office in Dubai to the existing ones in the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States.[9] The Omnicom Media Group MENA (Middle East and North Africa), a regional holding company, was established.[10] It reports to the Omnicom Media Group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, which is based in London.[9] In 2006, Khouri moved from his regional managing director role at OMD to assume the leadership of the Omnicom Media Group MENA.

In 2007, Khouri was made regional managing director of Omnicom Media Group[1] and was subsequently appointed as CEO in 2010.

The company had eight offices in six countries; and employed 450 people by 2012.[5] By the following year, it had launched Resolution, which specializes in social and mobile advertising and programmatic buying, which are forms of performance marketing. It uses OMD Predicts and PHD BrainScape to share intellectual property. Omnicom grew more than 30% in 2013 to $2.5 billion.[11]

In 2016, OMG opened a Dubai operation for the holding's latest agency brand, , with the Egyptian food company Americana as its first client. In 2018, the group had grown to 24 offices in 16 countries, with some 700 staff.[12] It has actively been investing in data analytics, including technology, software and infrastructure, and data acquisition; content; and programmatic trading. Khouri explained in an interview how the media agency role had moved from buying media cheaply to generating tangible business performance.[12]

In 2019, he was promoted to Chairman of the Group.[13][14]

Khouri is a regular commentator on industry trends and one of the leading media executives in the Middle East. In a 2019 interview, he warned the Middle Eastern marketing industry about the growing share of advertising investments going to global digital platforms and its impact on the local media ecosystem.[15] The group also shares and promotes its intellectual property and thought leadership with its stakeholders, notably by staging events like OMD Predicts and PHD BrainScape[16] and publishing white papers.[17]

Workplace strategies[]

In 2012 and 2013, Omnicom Media Group MENA was named as one of the best places to work, according to the annual list issued by the Great Place to Work institute (GPTW) in the United Arab Emirates.[11] The company maintained its ranking as the third best place to work from 2014 to 2016.[18][19][20] In 2017, the company progressed further to reach the second place in the ranking.[21] Khouri credits the organization's success to their "team's happiness at work."[19]

Khouri supports improving the rate at which women are employed within the industry and the Middle East. The rate at which women are employed for top positions also varies by country within the region. It is his goal to have an equal number of women and men in senior positions in his organization by 2020.[22]

Industry organisations[]

Omnicom developed its corporate social responsibility (CSR) program—based upon community, environmental, and corporate behaviour objectives—and supports several arts and educational institutions.[11] The company received the Best First Time Sustainability Report award for its inaugural Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) report at the recently held at the Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards in 2016.[23] Khouri became a board member of Injaz-UAE, an organisation dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy, and START, a non-profit organisation established by Art Dubai and the Al Madad Foundation.[11] He has also served as a board member of the United Arab Emirates chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA).[24]

In 2017, he was named to the board of the UAE affiliate of Endeavor, the global non-profit organization that supports high-impact entrepreneurs.[25]

Awards and honors[]

He was awarded Media CEO of the year by CEO Middle East magazine in 2008.[26] He was ranked 78th in Top 100 Global Meets Local by Forbes in 2013.[27] Two years later, Forbes ranked him 25th in the same Top 100 list.[28] In 2016, he was 52nd on the list[29] and 40th in 2019.[30]

He was named as one of the most admired CEO's in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) by CEO Middle East magazine in 2009.[1] In 2011, he ranked 2nd in the 50 most powerful people in media by Communicate magazine.[31] Khouri ranked 31st in the 500 most powerful Arabs in 2011 and was 23rd in the list by Arabian Business of 2013.[3][11] Later in the year, Khouri also received the award for ‘Media and Marketing CEO of the Year’ at the Gulf Business Industry Awards. LinkedIn included Elie Khouri in its UAE 2016 Power Profiles list. In recognition for the company's consistent performance in the UAE ranking, the Great Place to Work Institute gave Elie Khouri its inaugural Leader of the Year Award in 2017.[32]

Personal life[]

Family[]

Khouri is divorced and has three daughters.

Art[]

Khouri is an art patron and collector. His international collection includes contemporary paintings, sculptures and design objects.[33] Some of the works from his collection are displayed at Omnicom Media Group MENA headquarters in Dubai.[4][34] He supports the Association for the Promotion and Exhibition of the Arts in Lebanon (APEAL), a non-profit organisation dedicated to showcasing and encouraging Lebanese artists.[4] Khouri is a member of the Tate Middle East North Africa Acquisitions Committee and the MoMA Director's Council, as well as an Art Dubai patron.[35] In 2016, he started working towards establishing a private art foundation, to support emerging artists and the art ecosystem in the region and globally.[36]

He was

References[]

  1. ^ a b c "GCC's Most Admired Executives-Elie Khouri". Arabian Business. December 6, 2009. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Elie Khouri: Successful Brand In His Own Right". The National. Abu Dhabi Media. June 8, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Elie Khouri takes top media slot in Power 500". Arabian Business Publishing. 23 March 2013. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016.
  4. ^ a b c Akerman, Iain (December 2014). "Collector Profile: Elie Khouri" (PDF). Selections Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2016 – via lawrieshabibi.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Bhoyrul, Anil (December 9, 2012). "Best of 2012: Elie Khouri, OMG interview". Arabian Business. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  6. ^ "How growing up during the war made me a better leader". Omnicom Media Group. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  7. ^ "AUB to honor distinguished alumni during annual reunion weekend" (PDF). American University of Beirut. June 20, 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Sleiman, Melissa (November 23, 2008). "How to get ahead in advertising". Arabian Business. Archived from the original on December 20, 2016. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  9. ^ a b Abbott, Richard (April 9, 2006). "Laying down a challenge to create agency 2.0". Arabian Business. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  10. ^ Abbott, Richard (November 20, 2005). "PHD plans 'aggressive' roll out". Arabian Business. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  11. ^ a b c d e "The 500 Most Powerful Arabs in the World—23 Elie Khouri". Arabian Business. 2013. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  12. ^ a b "The Big Interview: Looking up – Elie Khouri, chief executive of Omnicom Media Group Middle East". Thenational.ae. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  13. ^ "Senior leadership promotions at OMG MENA to drive further growth". Campaign Middle East. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  14. ^ Mirabel, Eric (2019-06-11). "Three promotions in OMG MENA leadership". Omnicom Media Group. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  15. ^ "$1 out of every $3 ad spend in Mideast is ending up in Silicon Valley". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  16. ^ "Disruption, digital duo and data: the Ds transforming our industry, says Elie Khouri". Campaign Middle East. Retrieved April 18, 2016.
  17. ^ Mattoo, Hania (2019-03-17). "Data-Driven Marketing White Paper". Omnicom Media Group. Retrieved 2019-11-17.
  18. ^ "Best Companies to Work for in the UAE 2014". Great Place to Work Institute. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  19. ^ a b "Revealed: The best companies to work for in the UAE". Arabian Business. March 17, 2015. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  20. ^ "Best Companies to Work for in the UAE 2016". Great Place to Work Institute. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  21. ^ "Top Companies to Work for in the UAE - Great Place to Work® in the UAE". www.greatplacetowork.ae. Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  22. ^ "Women still woefully underrepresented in region's advertising industry leadership". The National. August 14, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  23. ^ "Asia Sustainability Reporting Awards 2015 Winners". CSRWorks International. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  24. ^ "IAA uae chapter elects new board". Albawaba News. January 24, 2007. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  25. ^ "Elie Khouri Appointed To Endeavor UAE Board". Arabian Business. 2013. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  26. ^ "Al Ghurair wins Lifetime Achievement Award". sahafi.jo. October 14, 2008. Retrieved December 12, 2016.
  27. ^ "Top 100 Global Meets Local". Forbes. 2013. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016. Specific record for Elie Khouri {{cite web}}: External link in |quote= (help)
  28. ^ "Global Meets Local 2015 - Elie Khouri". Forbes. 2015. Archived from the original on December 1, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  29. ^ "Global Meets Local 2016 - Elie Khouri". Forbes. 2016. Archived from the original on December 23, 2016. Retrieved December 13, 2016.
  30. ^ "TOP 50 REGIONAL EXECUTIVES HEADING GLOBAL COMPANIES 2019". Forbesmiddleeast.com. 17 October 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "OMG's Elie Khouri top people's Power List". Communicate Levant. September 2011. Retrieved December 13, 2016 – via Issu. OMG's Elie Khori was at No. 1 [on Kipp Report] (and No. 2 on ours [Communicate])
  32. ^ "Omnicom Media Group MENA Named No. 2 Top UAE Employer". Arabian Business. March 15, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018.
  33. ^ "UAE businesses show off their artistic licence". The National. July 25, 2016. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  34. ^ Ayad, Myrna (September 2014). "Art Patron—Elie Khouri". Canvas Magazine. Retrieved December 11, 2016.
  35. ^ Ayad, Myrna. "100 Inspiring Leaders In The Middle East- Elie Khouri". Arabianbusiness. Retrieved April 18, 2018.
  36. ^ Ayad, Myrna. "Elie Khouri: The Marketing Man". Harper's Bazaar. Retrieved April 18, 2018.

Further reading[]

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